Debate breaks record as most-watched in U.S. history

Monday night was the most-watched debate in American history.

Well over 80 million people tuned in to see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off, setting a new record in the sixty year history of televised presidential debates.

According to Nielsen, the debate averaged a total of 84 million viewers across 13 of the TV channels that carried it live.

Many millions also watched the debate via live streams on the web.

Nielsen's 84 million total counts people who watched via traditional TV channels at home. People who watched the debate at parties, bars, restaurants, and offices were not counted. Neither were C-SPAN viewers.

This means the actual total audience is even higher.

On the TV side, CNN and other cable news channels saw big increases over past election years. So did the broadcast networks.

NBC had the biggest audience overall, partly because "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt was the moderator of the debate. Upwards of 18 million people watched the debate on NBC.